Moody Shannin N, Phan Jenny M, Shirtcliff Elizabeth A, Wang Wen, Drury Stacy, Theall Katherine
Department of Neurology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans (LA), USA.
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames, (IA), USA.
Res Hum Dev. 2023;20(1-2):25-47. doi: 10.1080/15427609.2023.2215130. Epub 2023 May 22.
Exposure to pervasive racial discrimination of Black Americans is transgenerational in that mothers' experiences of discriminatory violence impacts their children. This study explored whether stress-related biomarkers reflect transgenerational racial stress by implementing a "dual activation" framework to probe how adrenal and gonadal hormones underlying adolescent development are co-regulated during a laboratory stressor. Data were collected from 120 Black families in the United States. Children completed the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST-C) and provided 4 saliva samples across 2 days that were assayed for cortisol (C), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and testosterone (T). Mothers reported their experiences of total discrimination and racial discrimination related to skin color/race. Thirty four percent reported experiences of discrimination and on average 46.7% reported experiences of discrimination due to their race or skin tone. Mothers' experiences of racial discrimination were associated with their child's hormonal reactivity to and recovery from the TSST-C. Youth showed stronger positive hormone coupling between C-T if their mother experienced greater discrimination. Mothers' experiences of racial discrimination influenced both C-T coupling and youths' cortisol recovery from the TSST-C. For youths with high testosterone, cortisol recovery was blunted. Results suggest that associations between racism and hormonal stress response may be transgenerational. Mothers' experiences of discrimination had a profound impact on their children's hormonal co-regulation.
美国黑人遭受的普遍种族歧视具有跨代性，因为母亲遭受歧视性暴力的经历会影响她们的孩子。本研究通过实施一个“双重激活”框架，探讨与压力相关的生物标志物是否反映了跨代种族压力，以探究青少年发育过程中肾上腺和性腺激素在实验室应激源期间是如何共同调节的。数据收集自美国的120个黑人家庭。孩子们完成了特里尔社会应激任务（TSST-C），并在两天内提供了4份唾液样本，用于检测皮质醇（C）、脱氢表雄酮（DHEA）和睾酮（T）。母亲们报告了她们遭受的总体歧视以及与肤色/种族相关的种族歧视经历。34%的母亲报告有歧视经历，平均46.7%的母亲报告有因种族或肤色而遭受歧视的经历。母亲的种族歧视经历与孩子对TSST-C的激素反应性及其恢复情况有关。如果母亲遭受的歧视更多，青少年在C-T之间表现出更强的正激素耦合。母亲的种族歧视经历既影响了C-T耦合，也影响了青少年从TSST-C中恢复皮质醇的情况。对于睾酮水平高的青少年，皮质醇的恢复受到抑制。结果表明，种族主义与激素应激反应之间的关联可能具有跨代性。母亲的歧视经历对孩子的激素共同调节产生了深远影响。
